Indonesia Instruction Of G20 Policy To Overcome Global Food Insecurity

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Ministry of Finance)

JAKARTA - Indonesia's presidency in the G20 has again initiated a global agreement to overcome food insecurity and malnutrition which is increasingly threatening.

This is the conclusion of the Joint Finance and Agriculture Deputies Meeting (JFADM) meeting between the Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu) and the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan), earlier this week. The first JFADM was attended by members of the G20, invited countries, and international organizations virtually.

Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture Kasdi Subagyono said it was our shared responsibility to prove that the G20 continues to maintain the spirit of multilateralism, making it happen as an effective forum in responding to global challenges.

"We must be able to overcome food insecurity, and reaffirm support for a multilateral trading system based on open, transparent, inclusive, predictable, and non-discriminatory rules," he said in a press statement today, Tuesday, October 4.

On the same occasion, Assistant Minister of Finance for Macroeconomics Wempi Saputra stated that this meeting and the meeting of the Minister of Finance and Agriculture of the G20 next week will be sufficient to determine for the G20 in building food security.

"We specifically also highlight the availability of fertilizers for farmers," he said.

Similarly, Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister of Agriculture Suliman al-Khateeb said that his party wanted to emphasize the need to develop a long-term governance mechanism.

Broadly speaking, members of the G20 and partners expressed their strong support to Indonesia to take this initiative to a higher meeting level.

Several countries also encourage that the concept note prepared can describe the more comprehensive challenges and solutions built on global alliances and high solidarity, without duplicating existing strategies and efforts and being built so far.

The results of this first JFADM meeting will be input for the first Joint Meeting of the Minister of Finance and Agriculture of the G20/Joint Finance and Agriculture Ministers's Meeting (JFAMM) at the 4th FMCBG which will be held in conjunction with the IMF World Bank Group Annual Meeting at Washington DC which will be held in mid-October 2022.

The G20 and international organizations are committed and will continue to call for global action to ensure food affordability for all and overcome existing vulnerabilities with global collaboration including through fiscal and sectoral policy mixes.